Slide
by perfectromanceinmymind
Summary: Picks up where the 10x13 freak-out in the woods left off.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm not dead! Ha. No really, it has been forever since I've even felt like there was anything in my brain to write, so this feels pretty momentous and also pretty small and not my best work but it's still something of an accomplishment. So I hope you like it and even if you don't, tell me nice things anyway? ;) Oh! And the title and lyrics come from the GooGoo Dolls' song of the same name, Slide. It's kinda been my Japril theme song this past 4 days. Give it a listen. Enjoy!**

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_Put your arms around me…what you feel is what you are and what you are is beautiful…Do you wanna get married, run away?_

_I wanna wake up where you are…_

Thirteen hours is a really long time. A long time to sit and think. Especially in a car. Especially after you've just done what is legitimately the _craziest_ thing you have ever done in your life.

"Are we crazy?" April asked, breaking the companionable silence of the car. They hadn't really spoken since getting back in the car after her freak-out in the woods, just glanced at each other with goofy smiles and the occasional nervous giggle.

Jackson glanced at the dashboard clock, a wry smile spreading across his face. "Almost a whole hour - I'm impressed."

April made a face. "I'm serious," she replied, a hint of her prior anxiety creeping into her voice. "Are we completely, totally insane?"

Jackson shook his head. "No. Quite frankly, I think it's the smartest thing either one of us has done in, oh, about a year, at least." He glanced over to see April's skeptical look and elaborated, "I mean, think about it. I could have been less sensitive about your relief over not being pregnant."

April grinned, a little ruefully. "I could've been a lot more sensitive about that," she admitted.

Jackson shrugged. "I mean, you know, we both could've just been a lot more honest with each other." Jackson's expression turned downcast as he added, "I shouldn't have kept dating Stephanie so long."

April scoffed. "At least you were just dating! I never should've accepted Matthew's proposal. I was just – so lost, so confused – and I thought he was exactly what I wanted – except that he wasn't – and I was just – afraid, I guess, of being alone again, alone forever –" she paused to take a breath and shook her head. "Forget crazy – are we terrible, horrible people?" She bit her lip as she turned in her seat to look at him.

Jackson sighed and reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "Right now, yeah, maybe we are. But – think about it this way - isn't it far kinder, for everyone involved, to have done this now? I mean, yeah, you could have married Matthew and probably been pretty happy, on paper anyway. I could've stayed with Stephanie, maybe even married her one day, who knows? But a part of me would have always felt like things were wrong, that I was living the wrong life. And it was just – I'm sorry, April, I just – it just didn't click until that moment. All of a sudden I realized – this was it – I would never have another chance to change things. So, I'm not sorry I did it – that we did this, ran away – but I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you – are you crying?"

April nodded, sniffling and shaking her head. "I'm sorry – I"

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry – I think there's some napkins in the glove box." He reached across her to open the glove box and she waved his hand off, getting a few napkins out herself and wiping at her eyes.

"No – it's okay – I just –" she took a deep breath and looked over at him. "I love you, Jackson. You said it earlier, in front of everybody, and I haven't said it back yet, but I do, I love you, you know that, right?"

Jackson laughed in spite of himself. "Well, you did say yes and run off with me, so you know, I kinda figured."

April laughed through her tears, making an almost hiccup-py sound. "Well, yeah, but it's nice to hear the words, right?"

He flashed a grin in her direction. "Right. So yeah, we're gonna have some clean-up to do when we get back, but for right now – for the next couple of days – it's just you and me. And it's gonna be okay."

April smiled. He was really, really good at making her believe that. Probably a good quality for a husband.

"Yeah. But, um – do you think we can look for an exit that looks like it might have some stores open? I mean, I'll settle for a Walmart or whatever – but I'd kinda like to get something to wear besides this," she said, gesturing at her gown.

"For what it's worth – you look gorgeous in that."

"Thank you," April replied, "But it's not exactly the most comfortable thing. Physically or um, mentally?"

"Got it. Let me know if you see anything that looks promising."

April nodded. "Running away is not as glamorous as it seems, is it? At least Cristina brought my purse out to me. Probably wouldn't be able to get married if I didn't have ID."

Jackson nodded, chuckling at the memory of Yang hurrying out of the barn and catching them just before they drove away. She'd yanked open the back door of the car, thrown April's little bag in, declared, "Your sisters are hysterical. Even so, this is still the best. Wedding. Ever," and gone back inside almost before they'd even registered her presence.

"Arizona's going to take care of getting all the gifts home, so I can sort out sending them back," April continued, almost just thinking out loud. She turned to look at him again. "And we're getting married," she said softly, the goofy smile coming back across her face.

"We're getting married," Jackson echoed, flashing her a goofy smile of his own as they lapsed back into silence and the car rolled on through the Oregon night.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so excited ya'll - there's more in my head! I have absolutely no idea how long I can keep this up or how much more there might be, but it's feeling good right now. I hope you enjoy - please do let me know what you think! :)**

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"_So I guess I can add roaming the aisles of a random Walmart in the middle-of-nowhere Oregon in a wedding dress to the list of things I never thought I'd do in my life," April said philosophically once they were back in the car._

_Jackson laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's not on many people's bucket lists," he agreed as he navigated the car back onto the interstate. "But then, neither is breaking up a wedding," he added ruefully._

_April shook her head. "Nuh-uh, cut that out. We're not going to think about that part right now. Remember? You said so, in the store."_

_Jackson nodded. She was right, he had said that. They had stopped in the small Oregon town nearly an hour earlier, filled the car with gas, got hamburgers at the McDonald's and then headed into the Walmart to get a few things to get them through the next couple of days._

They'd started in the ladies section, April selecting a few pairs of yoga pants and some t-shirts before moving on to socks and underwear.

"Okay, shoes," she said. "I've got to get something to wear besides these heels."

Jackson nodded, grinning as she pushed their buggy toward the shoe department, dress billowing around her. "It's killing you, isn't it?" he asked.

"What, these shoes? Yes."

"No, not the shoes. The not having been able to pack properly, to make a list and check everything off." She turned towards him, mouth opening, clearly ready to protest this statement and he continued, "Oh, no, don't give me that look. I know you."

Something about the simple, matter-of-fact way he stated those last three words suddenly made her feel weak in the knees. It was true. He knew her, so well, and in ways that no one else did. She closed her mouth without saying anything and just nodded as he continued speaking.

"It's one of those everything-about-you things that I love," he said softly, leaning over to kiss her, making April feel like she could melt into a puddle, right there on the shoe department floor. They broke apart, Jackson leaned back in for one more kiss and then stepped back, taking a breath and appearing to almost physically pull himself back to his senses.

"Okay, shoes."

April shook her head. "Right. I know they're not brand-name here, but I'm guessing you want some sneakers?"

Jackson grinned in response and they found shoes for each of them, plus some clothes for him and a detour over to luggage to pick up a couple duffel bags to pack all their new belongings in.

"What next?" Jackson asked. "Toothbrushes, toothpaste, that kinda stuff?"

April nodded. "Yeah, but first I want to see if they have anything half-way dressy looking." At his quizzical expression, she elaborated, "So I have something nicer than yoga pants to wear for the ceremony?"

"But you have a dress," he replied, gesturing at her gown and she fixed him with an incredulous look.

"I'm not wearing this dress to marry you," she said firmly.

"Ohh-kay," he said slowly and she gave him an even more incredulous look, one that plainly said 'do I really have to explain this to you?'

"I mean, if you want me to marry you wearing the dress that I picked out to wear for some other guy, then I guess that's cool, but it seems kinda weird to me," she said calmly, shrugging. "Probably really bad karma too, but whatever, your call."

Now it made sense. Jackson nodded in understanding. "No, I get it. We'll find something else."

April grinned. "Are you sure?" she teased flippantly. "I can write it down or draw pictures or something if you need me to."

Jackson laughed. "Does anyone else have any idea what a smart-ass you are?"

"Ha! Says the king of smart-assery," April retorted.

Jackson put on his best 'who, me?' face and April rolled her eyes. "Please. Just a few hours ago you told me I couldn't walk home because of bears."

"It was a valid concern!" he protested.

"Okay, maybe," April conceded, flipping through a rack of maxi dresses. "Anyway, I don't know. I think I've always had this side to me, I just have to be really comfortable with people before it comes out."

"So I guess you've been really comfortable with me for a really long time, then."

April grinned at him. "Yup," she said simply, pulling a plain grey dress off the rack and eying it critically. "I think this will work. Do you see cardigans anywhere – oh, there's some." She added a white sweater and they set off towards the health and beauty area.

"So what will you do with this dress?" Jackson asked, gesturing towards her gown again and April glanced down at herself. "Not sure, really. I was thinking about donating it, but I guess I really should look into consigning it. Make some cash so I can reimburse my parents at least a little bit for what they spent on the wedding." She bit her lip, looking troubled. "Or Matthew. If he'd even take the money from me." She'd already handed his ring back to him, right before she took Jackson's hand and ran out of the barn.

"It's worth a try," Jackson said. "Even if he tore the check up or sent it back or never cashed it or whatever, if it'll make you feel better, it's worth taking a shot."

April nodded. "It's so weird," she confessed as they stood in front of the trial size section, picking up toothpaste and shampoo and deodorant. "I feel so incredibly, unbearably happy right now – and then I think about what it took to have this happiness and I feel so guilty."

Jackson nodded as they rounded a corner and April grabbed a hairbrush. "I know. I feel that way too."

They walked slowly down the makeup aisle, April picking up a few necessities to hold her over, neither speaking for a few moments, until they turned another corner, back into the main aisle and started towards the registers and then Jackson stopped short, putting his hand on her arm, stopping her too.

"Okay, look," he said. "We have plenty to feel guilty about and we have plenty to apologize for when we get back. But we're not going to think about that part right now, okay?" April nodded slowly and he kept talking. "We'll worry about that when we get back. Right here, right now, until we get to Tahoe and back, all that matters is you being my wife and me being your husband, okay?" Jackson swallowed as his words echoed in his head. Wow. There was something about taking the word 'wife' and sticking the perfectly innocuous 'my' in front of it to make it, like, the most powerful set of words he'd ever spoken. "My wife," he repeated, almost to himself, a grin spreading across his face and April grinned back at him. "Deal?"

"Deal," she said firmly. "Now let's get out of here; we've still got hours to drive." They started back up the main aisle past the pharmacy section and then Jackson stopped again, taking a side step into an aisle towards the items that had caught his eye.

"We should probably get some of these," he said, waving a hand in the general direction of the condom shelves.

April nodded, feeling the faint tinges of a blush in her cheeks. She was a lot less self-conscious about sex than she used to be, but still – it had been over a year – long enough to make her a little nervous about doing it for the second first time.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I mean – I'm, um, on the pill now, ever since – but –"

"But we've both been with other people and –"

"I haven't," she blurted out, interrupting him. He looked at her in surprise.

"What? You mean, you and M –"

"No," April said sharply, cutting him off again. She didn't want to hear him say Matthew's name, not right then. She shook her head, speaking more gently, "No. We never slept together. He wanted to – and we almost did, once, and then I decided that waiting for the wedding was that important to me and – well – I have to admit, I'm really glad about that now," she said, flashing him a small smile that he couldn't help but return.

"I'm sorry I can't say the same," he said.

"Don't be," April said. "It's my belief system, not yours. I mean, let's be real, at my age, I didn't have high expectations of being my future husband's one and only. As long as I'm the last woman you're with, I have no right or reason to be upset about anyone before me."

A slow smile spread across Jackson's face. "Do you remember how upset you were after San Francisco, when we were getting ready for the resident's dinner? Because you weren't a virgin for the man you were gonna marry?"

April grinned back as she realized where he was ging with this line of thought. "And it turns out I was," she laughed.

"Yup," Jackson said. "We just had our timing alittle screwed up." He tossed the box of condoms in the buggy. "But we've got it worked out now."

"Yup," April said, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "C'mon, let's check out. And then I'm ripping the tags off those clothes so I can go in the bathroom and get the hell out of this dress!"


End file.
